Eleanor Post Hutton
| Eleanor Post Hutton | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Eleanor Post Close December 3, 1909 Greenwich, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Died |
November 27, 2006 (aged 96) Paris, France |
| Other names |
Eleanor Post Close Eleanor Close Barzin Eleanor Hutton Rand Eleanor Close Hutton Eleanor Post Hutton Sturges Gautier |
| Spouse(s) |
Preston Sturges (1930–32, annulled) Etienne Marie Robert Gautier George Curtis Rand Hans Habe Owen D. Johnson Léon Barzin (1956–1999; his death) |
Eleanor Post Hutton (née Close; December 3, 1909 – November 27, 2006) was an American heiress and socialite. Following her parents' divorce, her mother remarried, to Edward Francis Hutton.
Biography
Early life
She was born in Greenwich, Connecticut, the second daughter of heiress, socialite and company founder Marjorie Merriweather Post and investment banker Edward Bennett Close.[1] She was the granddaughter of C. W. Post whose Postum Cereal Company was the predecessor of the General Foods Corporation. She was a half-sister to Dina Merrill (née Nedenia Hutton), Marjorie Post's third and last child.
Marriages
In 1930 she eloped with the playwright and director Preston Sturges.[2][3] In 1932 she sought an annulment on the grounds that he was not legally divorced from his first wife when they eloped.[4] Sturges' screenplay for The Power and the Glory (1933 film) was loosely based on her stories about her grandfather C. W. Post.[5]
In 1934 she married her third husband, George Curtis Rand.[6] Designs for their apartment by Donald Deskey Associates are held in the collections of the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum.[7][8][9] She was divorced from George C. Rand and married in 1942 the writer Hans Habe. They divorced in 1946. Eleanor's final husband was the conductor Leon Eugene Barzin; the couple lived in Switzerland. Leon Barzin predeceased his wife in 1999.
Unlike her sister, Adelaide, Eleanor was not as involved in the operation of the Marjorie Merriwether Post Foundation due to her residency in Europe.
Death
Eleanor Close Hutton Barzin died in Paris on November 27, 2006 and was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx, New York. She was survived by her son Antal Miklas Post de Bekessy, her granddaughter Laetitia Vere as well as her half sister actress Dina Merrill and two half brothers Edward B. Close, Jr., and William B. Close.[1]
References
- 1 2 "Paid Notice: Deaths BARZIN, ELEANOR CLOSE". The New York Times. 2007-03-27. Retrieved December 20, 2012.
- ↑ "Eleanor Hutton Elopes With Playwright; Weds Preston Sturges Over Parents' Protest". The New York Times. 1930-04-14. Retrieved December 20, 2012.
- ↑ "RUNAWAY MARRIAGE.". The Daily News (Perth, WA: 1882-1950) (Perth, WA: National Library of Australia). July 3, 1930. p. 8 Edition: HOME FINAL EDITION. Retrieved December 20, 2012.
- ↑ "MRS. E.P.H. STURGES SUES; Former Eleanor Hutton Seeks to Annul Marriage to Playwright.". The New York Times. 1932-05-25. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
- ↑ Jacobs, Diane (1992). Christmas in July: the life and art of Preston Sturges. Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 123–4. ISBN 0520079264.
- ↑ "Milestones, June 4, 1934". Time Magazine. 1934-06-04. Retrieved December 20, 2012.
- ↑ Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. "Eleanor Hutton Rand". Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
- ↑ Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. "George C. Rand". Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
- ↑ Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. "Donald Deskey Associates". Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved December 19, 2012.